Campus & Community

​​Steven C. George, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named the Elvera & William Stuckenberg Professor of Technology & Human Affairs. He was installed Sept. 22.

UPDATE: Washington University in St. Louis will test its emergency communication system, WUSTLAlerts, at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, rather than Thursday, Sept. 25, as previously scheduled. The test will take place unless there is a potential for severe weather or an emergency is occurring. WUSTLAlerts will send emails to @wustl.edu addresses and text messages to cellphones.

​Washington University in St. Louis students play glow golf in Danforth University Center during a DUC Presents event sponsored by the Inter-Fraternity Council and Women’s Panhellenic Association. The next DUC Presents event will take place Oct. 4. The International and Area Studies honorary society, SIR, will host a cultural expo.

Computer Comfort classes, offered through Olin Business School, connect local seniors with Washington University students who help them learn how to use and get comfortable with their computers — and the Internet, email and Skype, too.

The Assembly Series will feature next week speakers who explore issues of race, culture and identity — in two distinct ways. At 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, race and gender scholar Roderick Ferguson, PhD, will deliver the annual James E. McLeod Lecture on Higher Education. At noon Tuesday, Sept. 30, legal and literary scholar Patricia J. Williams, JD, will speak for the Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities’ annual lecture series. Both are free and open to the public.

The nip in the air is a reminder not only of the coming autumn but of flu season. And for any Washington University employee who works with or near patients, it means it’s time to get a flu shot.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a report last week from an advisory group on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Barbara A. Schaal, PhD, dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences, chaired the advisory group that was tasked with creating a strategic vision and guide NAS’ Gulf Research Program.

Resident Ruth Groff pets Boo at a pop-up dog park constructed by Washington University staff and student volunteers Sept. 13 for “Rock The Block: A Skinker DeBaliviere Better Block Project.” The event encouraged residents to reimagine their neighborhood through temporary installations such as the dog park and other community activities.

As part of Washington University Libraries’ ongoing commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer, the Washington University Film & Media Archive will host a Q&A with actor Richard Beymer and a free screening of his film, “A Regular Bouquet.” The event takes place at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Steinberg Auditorium on the Danforth Campus.

Joni Westerhouse, a longtime veteran in public affairs at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named associate vice chancellor and associate dean for Medical Public Affairs.